Chocolate Alchemy, Jade Mountain Spa Hotel, St Lucia

This luxury hotel bathes in the glory of Piti and Gros Piton mountains, floating upon the Caribbean Sea, and rather indulgently is set in an estate where there are over 2000 cocoa trees growing! This makes Jade Mountain the place to go for an ultra indulgent chocolate experience!

In the Chocolate Lab guests can taste and help make the estate’s very own Emerald Estate Chocolate. Chocolate infused activities include sensory tastings, educational estate trips, and truffle making classes. There are also chocolate inspired dishes and cocktails in the resort restaurants and bars – plus chocolate themed spa treatments – the coarseness of ground cocoa makes for the perfect scrub, infusing the skin with natural nutrients and anti-oxidants. The Chocolate Alchemy Package Includes:

Chocolate Journey Cruise, Worldwide

Princess Cruises offers indulgent on-board chocolate experiences on all its liners, in partnership with award-winning chocolatier Norman Love. Each ship is different – but chocolate is always a key theme. Some for example do a monster Chocolate Indulgence breakfast buffet, and some boast a chocolate fountain or two. Experiences to entice guests aboard include:

Mövenpick Signature Chocolate Hour, Worldwide

This Swiss hotel chain is so connected with its heritage that it dedicates one hour in the afternoon to an exquisite chocolate tasting experience!

Mövenpick’s Signature Chocolate Hour takes place in the lobby of all their hotels and resorts around the world. Each day you can discover Mövenpick chocolate variations and homemade creations such as éclairs, brownies, truffles, chocolate fountains and much more!

BUDAPEST – for the mum who likes a pamper

The Hungarian capital is brimming with thermal baths, and spas, offering a wide range of pampering opportunities such as mud therapy, massage, facials, and salt cave experiences. Top places to go are:

Rudas Thermal Baths and Swimming Pool – A glorious historical building where you can get the most authentic hammam experience. There are 6 baths, all of a different temperature, a steam chamber and a Finnish sauna. Divine!

Lukács Bath – An enormous spa space with everything you could wish for under one roof. Outdoor hot pool with mini river, massage services, swimming, and Himalayan salt steam room – all supplied by what is touted to be the best quality thermal spring in the city.

Széchenyi Baths – As the largest spa complex in Europe, you know that this place has everything you could possibly want, but one spa in particular comes to attention – the Beer Spa! Here you can soak in the mineral-rich thermal water but blended with natural extracts used to brew beer. While the spa lists many benefits to this spa, the fact it has beer on tap within reach of the tub is a winner.

ICELAND – for the mum who likes an adventure

There is just so much for an adrenaline junkie to do in Iceland! Here are some top activities and where you’ll find them:

Ice Climbing – Sólheimajökull in South Iceland.

Ice Caving – one of the most popular places to explore is on a glacier hike near Vatnajökull, the largest glacier in Europe.

Skiing and Snowboarding – Head to Akureyri, Hlíðarfjall, these ski resorts are open for more days in the season.

Dog Sledding – Locations vary, but most tour pickups are from Reykjavík.

Is fun number 1 on your agenda when you go on holiday? If so, you are going to love this list of locations to add to your itinerary. Each place is measured by the awesome activities and attractions that are available, guaranteed to add an extra dimension of excitement to your stay!

If you are looking for a break that packs a big bang for your bucks, then maybe you should plan your next adventure around a firework festival! Here are some of the most impressive firework themed events that are happening around the world in 2017 for you to enjoy.

April 15thRouketopolemos – Greek islands of Chios

This event translates as “Rocket War”, and it takes certain types of travellers to throw themselves into the chaos that ensues. Rouketopolemos takes place in Vrontados. It is here a pyrotechnic battle is staged between two churches – in rival parishes – firing as many as 60,000 rockets between them actually at each other. Rouketopolemos is their way of marking Easter. We bet not many chocolate eggs survive the ordeal!

July 14th Bastille Day – France

Each year the Bastille Day fireworks display lights up the Parisian skyline, and each year it brings something new in a themed event. War and Peace, Paris Welcomes The World, and Paris Is A Party are examples. Watching untold amounts of money literally go up in smoke from the Eiffel Tower is a popular event, and you’ll be shoulder to shoulder with around a million people! Bastille Day commemorates the storming of the Bastille in 1789, the start of the French revolution.

August 09th Singapore National Day

The fireworks on Singapore National Day is a patriotic display of pyrotechnic wonders that gets bigger every year. To mark Singapore as an international hub, teams from around the world are invited to showcase their culture in the most magnificent way possible – with fireworks and pyromusicals – lighting up Marina Bay. The colorful event celebrates the country’s colourful rise to independence from Malaysia in 1965.

September 22nd – 25th Correfoc, Spain

This fiery pastime translates as “firerun” and is actually quite self-explanatory – especially when you read the tourist health and safety advice. Wear old clothes, cover your arms and legs, protect your neck with a bandana and wear headgear to protect yourself from burns. It is also advised that spectators wear earplugs to protect their ears, and that hands should be free to shield eyes at any time a “diable” gets too close. So what’s all the fuss about? During the Correfoc, “devils” are let loose, running through the crowds with fireworks attached to pitchforks. Not for the feint hearted. There are kids Correfoc events that may be less scary for the safety conscious traveller. Correfocs happen at lots of festivals throughout the year in Spain, we’ve picked a balmy autumnal event in Barcelona for your enjoyment!

October 31st Diwali, India

The Hindus celebrate the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over despair with the most massive firework display. Diwali hasn’t always had fireworks at the heart of its celebrations – traditionally candles were lit in a more modest celebration of light – and may not have for much longer. It seems that the enthusiasm for fireworks displays during this time is seriously affecting the air quality. Last year’s celebrations caused smog in Delhi for days affecting many people’s health. Weather conditions were thought to be a contributing factor.

November 05th Guy Fawkes, UK

You’ll all be familiar with this celebration, but have you ever witnessed the shenanigans that happen in the little (and usually very peaceful) town of Lewes in East Sussex at this time of year? Lewes Bonfire Celebrations is one of the most spectacular of its kind in the world, where a procession of burning (often political) effigies make their way down the high street and fireworks are let off, well, wherever it seems! Tickets MUST be bought in advance, and don’t go thinking you can just drive in and park – most of the town is closed to traffic in the lead up to the celebrations.

December 24th La Noche Buena, Peru

The last date in the calendar takes us across the world to Peru, where locals welcome in Christmas with a big bang. The 24th is a day for feasting and drinking, and then Peruvians take to the streets and light fireworks before partying the night away. It’s summer in this part of the world, which makes celebrating xmas alfresco an unusual and beautiful experience, especially accompanied by festive fireworks!

If you fancy dancing with fire devils, spectating a rocket war, or just taking in the dazzling lights of Diwali, you’d better get yourself some travel insurance. We have a range of competitively priced policies that are low on excitement, but big on cover.

Organised tours have a bit of a bad rep, deemed by many to be un-adventurous and a bit like an overpriced school trip with a bunch of people you are unlikely to get on with. If this is what you think, we are here to change your mind by busting some myths associated with this type of holiday.

Myth 1: I’ll only see the touristy stuff

FALSE! Tours are run by people who know the area – which includes all the cool stuff that you’d probably miss if you were left to your own devices, or at least spend half of your holiday trying to discover.

Myth 2: I’ll be stuck with the group the whole time

FALSE! You are not being babysat 24/7, you can go out and discover the area by yourself and experience the night life without the rest of the group if you so wish. In fact, if you want a bit of spontaneity on your trip just ask your tour guide who can tell you where is safe to go if you fancy a bit of time on your own.

Myth 3: It’s expensive

TRUE! BUT… Break the cost down and you’ll be surprised what great value for money it really is. Whether the daily cost works out to be £50 or £150, bear in mind that it covers the cost of flights, accommodation, transfers, local guides and even meals. You can check out average tour prices with this handy calculator from Tour Radar.

Myth 4: It’s better to go on holiday with friends

MAYBE, MAYBE NOT! Organizing a holiday with friends can actually be quite restrictive, as you all want to see and experience different things, and try hard to compromise. It can also lead to some pretty epic bust-ups on the way. The bonus of a tour holiday is that you are essentially experiencing independent travel with the safety and support of a group.

Whether a tour is the best option for you all depends what you want to get out of your holiday. If it’s a trip of a lifetime where you get a chance to try new things, expand your personal horizons, meet new people, forge new friendships, and have something to write home about – a tour is probably the way to go.

Don’t forget your travel insurance!

Even if you are booked with a tour operator, you may benefit from having your own independent travel insurance to ensure you are covered for things like medical assistance and repatriation. If you are unsure, just give one of our travel insurance advisors a call on 01892 833338

Happy New Year! We are looking forward to a great year of adventures ahead – hopefully ticking off at least one bucket-list activity! We’ve all got one, full of daring adventures and unseen destinations – but do you have any idea how much it might actually cost to fulfill – or know what percentage of your wage you’d need to start saving?

Thankfully the geeks with all the gadgets at totallymoney.com have built a clever bucket-list calculator tool to work it out for us. Divided into adventure, sightseeing, aspirational, adrenaline and wildlife – you can personalize your own list and start saving.

Average cost of the top 10 bucket-list activities for UK traveller

See the Northern Lights: £572

Go on safari: £5,600

Walk the Great Wall of China: £1,139

Visit the Grand Canyon: £1,181

Go on a cruise: £1,338

See the Egyptian Pyramids: £1,112

Go whale watching: £2,000

Spend New Year’s Eve in New York: £1,103

Gamble in Las Vegas: £1,109

Take an American road trip: £3,365

Check out the full top 20 list, which is unsurprisingly dominated by travel-related activities, below. In fact, Buying Your Dream Home is the only one not related to travel, coming in at number 11.

With the brand new Harry Potter film hitting the screens, we thought we’d share this awesome infographic about weird and wonderful creatures that really do exist. If you’d like to check them out yourself on an adventure, we have also compiled a list of truly magical activities to look out for at each destination, to be revealed in our next blog!

You may associate Nevada with tales of extra terrestrial activities, but did you know that it has some pretty spooky heritage? Nevada’s vast landscape is dotted with countless ghost towns – some are indecipherable ruins infested with tumbleweeds, but others are surprisingly intact. Both are portals into a Nevada of old…

Rhyolite – America’s most famous ghost town…

Rhyolite is a secluded town set on the eastern edge of Death Valley, and has a reputation for being one of the best ghost towns in the US. It was once a thriving mining town, but now the abandoned streets and buildings send shivers down the spines of those who visit. The general store, train station and bank still stand, and so does the jail, undoubtedly the most popular attraction for spooky thrill seekers who can look into the cells and imagine the tortured lives of former prisoners.

The Haunted Mizpah Hotel

Between Las Vegas and Reno is a spooky hotel that is said to have some ghostly inhabitants. Here are some of the hair-raising rumours that would make great torch lit Halloween tales!

It is said that guests can hear laughter by one of the hotel’s bath tubs, possibly the ghostly echoes of a politician who died there. Rumour has it that he met his demise before an important election, but his death was hidden by his aides who decided to keep his body in a bathtub on blocks of ice instead.

The Mizpah is also home to “The Lady in Red”- the spirit of a prostitute who was murdered on the fifth floor of the hotel, viciously stabbed outside her lavish suite. Some stories say that she was killed by a jealous ex-boyfriend, whereas others say she was caught cheating by her husband at the hotel after he had missed a train – he then proceeded to kill her in a fit of jealous rage. She has also made appearances in the original elevator the hotel features, which at its installation was the fastest elevator in the state!

The ghosts of Mizpah are said to reside across the eerie building – there have been several sightings of ghosts of children playing throughout the hallway on the third floor, and it is said that the ghosts of miners can be seen walking through the walls of the creepy basement too.

Creepy Clowns of Highway 95

Like all good spooky places to visit in Nevada, Tonopah was once a thriving mining town, which now has an extra eerie appeal to visitors. Along the highway of this desert town lies the Clown Motel, a roadside rest place stuffed to the brim with clowns and clown collectables. The hotel itself may not be haunted – it’s just the creepy clowns that are guaranteed to give guests night terrors – but the Cemetery next door probably is. It has been closed for over a hundred years and is packed with graves of former miners many of which died from the mysterious “Tonopah Plague” in 1902.

Avoid the fright of your life on holiday! Get travel insurance!

While we don’t insure against ghouls and ghosts, we can provide cover for a range of holiday mishaps – Get in touch or visit our website to find out more about single trip, multi trip and long stay travel insurance.

There is something special and somewhat surreal about the atmosphere at an airport, but some are definitely more of a pleasure than others. We reveal three of the best airports in the world – the kind you would wish you were in if you were stranded!

Changi Airport, Singapore

This place is more like a leisure complex than an airport, combined with an art gallery and possibly the Eden Project in the UK. In fact, it is a destination in itself! Here are a few of the things that make it the perfect place to while away some hours…

Munich Airport, Germany

This airport has been likened to a city centre thanks to its huge array of eateries, watering holes and shops. It is also one of the busiest airports in Europe, here’s what visitors get to experience…

Indulge in retail therapy in one of the 150+ shops

Eat and drink in any of the 50+ bars

Enjoy the atmosphere of a real German rooftop beer garden

Explore the in-house art gallery

Swim in a stainless steel pool

Visit the Audi showroom

Although these airports would seem like a great place to spend some holiday time, if your flight is delayed or cancelled it could cause havoc with more than just your holiday plans, it could affect your finances too. Travel insurance from WorldwideInsure.com provides the cover you need in the event that travel plans don’t go to plan – to find out more, get in touch with us on 01892 833338 or get a fast and free online quote.

You don’t need to be wielding the latest DSLR to be able to take amazing photos, you just need to know how to spot a shot and capture what you see on whatever photography device you have. Here are our top tips…

1. Have your camera ready.

Not such an issue if you are using your smartphone, but if you like the old-school touch of a film camera, or indeed carry a more modern digital camera about, make sure it isn’t at the bottom of your bag, without a film, missing a battery or attached to the wrong lens.

2. Look for colour.

Neon lights, colourful market stalls, flowers in full bloom, the bright hues of fabrics, or simply a big blue sky. A strong splash of colour can add a dramatic feel to an otherwise ordinary snap.

3. Look for contrast.

You don’t need to be working in Black and White to make the most of light and dark. Seek shadows and silhouettes for a dramatic effect even with the most saturated film or filter. Especially good at sunset!

4. Find the story.

Whether you are at an event or festival or you are wandering the streets, seek a narrative every time you look through the viewfinder. Traditional festivals are a great place to find a story, but so are portrait opportunities with every person you meet!

5. Turn off auto.

Take time to experiment with your equipment, playing around with long exposures of city lights or the night sky, super-fast shutter speeds for action shots, and changing depth of field to draw the viewer’s eye to the subject.

6. Don’t forget to document.

Chances are you’ll forget how great that al fresco fish dinner tasted on the Aegean coast unless you capture on camera. Your travel photos aren’t just for sharing with friends and family, they are for keeping memories too.

7. Go for Golden Hour.

The light just after sunrise and just before sunset is softer and slightly redder than the rest of the day, the perfect light for beautiful photography! Make sure you don’t miss this “golden” photo opportunity, use the Golden Hour Calculator to check out times at your destination.

8. Find your frame.

Get down low, get up high, look up, look down, zoom in, crop, add space, centre your subject… there are a kerzillion ways to frame a shot, and the best way to find out what works is to experiment! Don’t be afraid to break the rules – use your viewfinder until you hit the aesthetic sweet-spot.

9. Don’t forget the details.

Macro photography is an art in itself, with super-close-ups requiring specialist equipment to get National Geographic quality shots. Most phone cameras and mid-range digital cameras have quite a good digital zoom function that can capture excellent textures and fine details – as long as you have an eye to find them!

10. Share!

Use social media to share your best shots with other travellers and to inspire other adventurers. If you are on a longstay adventure, you could create an online journal using the 365Project, a place where you can share your photos with the community and document your adventures, all for free!